Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"So, could you lend us some money and some meat? It's not much, just about ten pounds of meat will do, and maybe three or five hundred yuan. The medicine at the hospital is really too expensive, and I'm afraid we won't have enough money."

When Zhou Ji heard Zhou Ping asking him questions, he assumed that Zhou Ping had softened his heart, so he couldn't wait to tell him the conditions they had agreed on, and even added some to the original terms.

Although Zhou Ji returned late last time and didn't see Zhou Rui's family's wealth, he had heard about it from his parents and the villagers.

There are hundreds of pounds of cured meat and thousands of yuan in cash at home. There are countless other valuable items such as cigarettes and alcohol, as well as valuable things like horse roe. I only want a few hundred yuan. It shouldn't be too much to ask for.

"Hehe...haha..." Zhou Ping felt like he was about to laugh out loud in anger. Why should he?

When Zhou Ji saw Zhou Ping suddenly laugh, he thought things were going to work and laughed along. Only Zhou Dashan felt that the laughter was somewhat eerie, sounding exactly like that madman Zhou Rui.

"No."

The laughter stopped abruptly. When Zhou Ji heard those two cold words, he thought he was hallucinating.

"What?"

Seeing Zhou Ji's somewhat surprised expression, Zhou Ping found it rather amusing.

I said, no.

"Why? Your family is so rich, what's wrong with lending some money to Grandpa and Grandma for medical treatment? If you don't lend it, I'll go to the village and tell everyone that you're unfilial. You're so rich, you'd rather watch your own grandparents get sick than get them treated."

"My family's wealth is earned by my second brother working himself to the bone in the mountains," Zhou Ping said, a hint of heartache in his voice.

Several times when Zhou Rui returned, Zhou Ping could smell the blood on him and his undisguised exhaustion. However, in front of An An, Zhou Ping didn't dare to ask, afraid of frightening his sister, so he just kept it to himself.

"Grandpa and Grandma are sick, and their son will take care of them with money. It's not like they've run out of sons. Even if your family doesn't have money, don't you still have your third uncle?"

"you……"

Zhou Ji was furious. He had only been away from home for a few months, but he hadn't expected Zhou Rui's family to change so much. It was one thing for Zhou Rui to be able to earn money by hunting, but he hadn't expected Zhou Ping to become so sharp-tongued.

"I can't talk to you. Move aside and let me go in to get some good food for Grandpa and Grandma to nourish them." With that, Zhou Ji gave Zhou Ping a hard shove on the shoulder.

Zhou Ping staggered back two steps, almost knocking over the oil lamp.

"Mao Mao".

Mao Mao bent its forelegs, bared its teeth, and let out a low growl. Mao Qiu, Mao Tuan, and Mao Dou also appeared silently behind Mao Mao, mimicking their mother and making threatening noises.

Zhou Ji quickly withdrew his hand from mid-air and slid backward rapidly, hiding behind Zhou Dashan. This dog was simply too big, and there were also three small puppies that suddenly appeared from the darkness. Although they were only a few months old, they were already the size of the adult dogs in the village.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Dashan was also frightened and was taking steps backward. The two collided and fell backward.

"Ruiwa, I'm your uncle. No, Ping... Pingwa, don't be like your older brother." Zhou Dashan collapsed to the ground, so frightened that he even called her by the wrong name.

Zhou Ji braced himself with his hands on the ground and scooted his legs backward, trying to get as far away from the dogs as possible.

"Zhou Ping, you wait. I'll tell everyone in the village that you and Zhou Rui are ungrateful wretches, refusing to pay for your grandparents' medical expenses. I'll let the villagers talk behind your back and make your whole family lose face."

"Okay." Zhou Ping's voice was completely calm. "Go and talk to them. Then I'll also find Grandpa Village Chief and have him call Uncle San in the county town to ask why, when Grandpa and Grandma are sick, their own son doesn't come back to visit them or contribute a single penny."

"Now, right now, get out of my yard." Zhou Ping said, taking two steps forward. The four dogs behind him also took two steps forward, closely guarding Zhou Ping on both sides.

"No, no, no! Please don't let the village chief know, we don't want the money." Zhou Dashan was startled. He had made this up to deceive Zhou Ping, and he absolutely couldn't let it get out.

If Zhao Youzhi were to use this argument to question Zhou Dashu at his factory and it affected Zhou Dashu, then he would be in a difficult position to explain himself.

"You...you just wait." Zhou Ji saw that his father had given in and knew that he had messed up this time and would not get a penny, but he was still stubborn.

"hey-hey……"

Seeing Zhou Ji's fierce but cowardly words, and the two of them leaving in a sorry state like stray dogs, Zhou Ping couldn't help but laugh.

Second Brother is absolutely right. Truly powerful words don't need to be spoken loudly. As long as you accurately strike the enemy's weakness, even if you speak very softly, they will be terrified and run away in fear.

Zhou Ping squatted down and rubbed Mao Mao's head: "Mao Mao, wasn't I amazing just now? Didn't I look just like my second brother?"

"Woof," Mao Mao responded confidently.

The three little furry creatures also came over, their fluffy heads rubbing against Zhou Ping incessantly.

The door closed slowly, and the courtyard fell into a dark silence.

Zhou Ping carried the oil lamp into Zhou Rui's room. An'an and Xiao Niangao were sleeping soundly, undisturbed by the noise outside.

Zhou Ping set up the oil lamp and lay down in the spot where Zhou Rui usually slept.

"Second brother, I can protect An'an and Xiao Niangao even when you're not home."

In the darkness, Lu Cheng woke up to find himself all alone.

"Ah~ Where did they go? They didn't abandon me, did they? No, no, they don't know where Qingyang is. But it's not even dawn yet, and five people disappeared without a sound... Could it be..."

Thinking about this, Lu Cheng felt a chill run down his spine.

The braying of mules and barking of dogs suddenly broke Lu Cheng's reverie. Lu Cheng got up and walked out of the cave along the faint light.

Beside the hot spring pool, a fire was lit again, and Wang Shouye and his apprentices were busy at work. Some were brushing the mules, some were feeding the dogs, and others were cooking. Everyone was working hard, and no one was slacking off.

"Wang Pao, you guys are up so early. It's not even dawn yet." Lu Cheng looked up at the sky peeking out from the valley.

"Good morning, Lu Cheng. In the middle of winter, the days are short, so we need to get up early to prepare. That way, we can set off as soon as it's light and save time."

Wang Shouye greeted everyone with a smile, clearly in a good mood.

"Isn't it a bit too early?" Lu Cheng didn't understand. He used to patrol the mountains by himself, and he would only get up after he had slept enough, and no one cared how far he traveled each day.

"Actually, it's not late; there's already light outside. It's just that because we're at the bottom of this valley, it feels like it's still dark."

Since you're up, go wash up first; breakfast will be ready soon.

Breakfast? Lu Cheng looked towards the campfire after hearing this. He had eaten so well last night; he hadn't expected to eat this good while out in the wild with Wang Pao and the others. Even the roasted meat was so elaborate, with so many spices.

In the past, even if I occasionally caught prey, I would only put some salt on it when roasting it, just enough to fill my stomach.

Around the fire, a row of large white steamed buns were skewered on branches, already emitting a fragrant aroma.

"So extravagant, eating big steamed buns for breakfast, and they're all made of pure white flour?" Just by smelling them, Lu Cheng knew that these steamed buns didn't contain any other grains.